♦AK10632♦5what you bid (if you try Stayman
you get 2♦ and if you transfer

♣ KQ♣ A2into either suit partner simply
accepts). The question is do you

consider the hand (a) weak, (b) invitational or (c) game
forcing.

Hand GHand HWith Hand G
LHO opens 1♣ which partner doubles, what

do you bid?

♠ J109542♠ 54

♥
Q10654♥ A85With Hand
H you open 1♣ and partner responds 1♥, what

♦ -♦ AK5do you bid?

♣ 65♣ QJ753

Hand JHand KWhat do you open with Hand J?

♠ K10♠ KQ1072Hand K, this is an interesting one, so
have a good think before

♥
K7♥ A104you come up with the “obvious”
answer. You open 1♠, LHO

♦ AK43♦ A75overcalls 2♦ and
partner doubles (negative), what do you bid?

♣ Q10753♣ 65

Index

Something new this week. I have compiled a comprehensive index to all of the news-sheets on
the web. It is primarily for web use – searching for an item is so simple. But
if you have no access to a computer and would like a print-out, let me know.
Below is a sample of what you get – it’s this week’s index.

13Strong vs Weak NT-2. – sometimes it works
best to have a NT rebid as 15-16.

13Contacting Others – there’s a secure page on the web.

So what do those bids mean?Board 28 from
Friday 4th

NorthSouthNorthSouth

♠ KQ9♠ AJ10631♣1♠

♥
K643♥ A83♥(1)4♦(2)

♦
AK2♦ Q8434♠pass

♣ A84♣ K6

N-S were asked what the bids meant; the explanations
given were (1) dunno, and (2) dunno.

Playing sensibly, 3♥ would be a splinter agreeing ♠’s and showing ♥ shortage
and 4♦ would be a cue bid showing the ♦A.

And what happened? N-S scored a zero as all the other tables were in
slam or else in 3NT.

And how should the hand be bid?

NorthSouth(3)18-19
balanced

1♣1♠(4)NMF, some may prefer 3♣ CBS. Asks opener about his majors

2NT(3)3♦(4)(5)4 ♥’s, may or may not have 3 ♠’s.

3♥(5)3♠(6)(6)I have 5 ♠’s - forcing

4♠(7)4NT(8)(7)I
have 3 ♠’s.

etc to 6♠or 6NT(8)Whatever form of Blackwood you play.

Leading Quiz

Hand LWestEastWith this hand L you are
South with this bidding.

What
do you lead?

♠ 854-1NT

♥K7634♣4♥Answer next page.

♦Q746NTpass

♣ K53

1NT or support with 3 cards?Board 7 from Monday 31st

Dealer:♠ A876

South♥
107West(H)NorthEastSouth

Both vul♦
J932---pass

♣ 10841♣pass1♥pass

1NT(1)all pass

♠ 54N♠ 1093

♥
A85WE♥ QJ942

♦
AK5S♦ 1074

♣ QJ753♣ A4

♠ KQJ2

♥K86

♦Q86

♣ 962

(1)What did you bid
with this West hand H in this week’s quiz? With good 3-card support for partner
and a weak doubleton I prefer 2♥ to 1NT. There are a few reasons why 2♥ is better
than 1NT here: -

(a)You will probably
get a ♠ lead.

(b)Partner may have
5 ♥’s

(c)Even if it’s a Moysian fit it should play well as you get a ruff with the
short trumps.

♠ 1093(d)East may have a hand like this – it’s only slightly
different. Over a 1NT

♥
QJ942response (12-14) from
partner, this hand should pass. But over a 2♥

♦ Q74response it’s worth an
effort (say a 3♦ game try) and the excellent 4♥ is

♣ A4then easily reached.

And what happened? For some strange reason
the defence did not lead a ♠ and so declarer made 13 tricks. This scored about average as 4♥ was bid at
3 tables.

The bottom lines:-

-Support with
support. I will always support with 3 decent trumps opposite possibly only 4 if
I have a weak doubleton. Not everybody agrees with me and some will only do it
with a singleton – different styles?

-If you have 14
points it’s even more important to do so as 2 of partner’s major is more encouraging than 1NT.

-This West hand
has no tenaces and so it’s probably best for partner
to be declarer (he may have something like ♠Kx or ♠KJx or similar).

-There was a very similar
article in news-sheet 65.

A Poor Slam?Board 10 from Monday 31st

Dealer:♠ 9763Table
A(Standard American)

East♥
J852WestNorthEastSouth(L)

Both vul♦
1086--1NT(1)pass

♣ 764♣(2)pass4♥(3)pass

6NT(4)all pass

♠ Q102N♠ AKJ

♥
A9WE♥ Q104Table B(Acol)

♦A952S♦ KJ3West(C)NorthEast(A)South(L)

♣ AQ82♣ J1094--1♣(1)pass

♠ 8541♦pass1NT(5)pass

♥K7634♣(6)pass4♥pass

♦Q746NTall pass

♣ K53

Table A:(1)What would you open with this East hand? You
know me, knock off a point for the totally flat shape.
Also, all but one of the points in the ‘short’ suits is bad. But on the other
hand the hand has two 10’s and the J109x combination is good. All-in-all it’s
borderline so I won’t argue with 1NT this time.

(2)Gerber(3) 1 ace

(4)Optimistic?

Table B:(1)Playing a weak NT …

(2)… so this NT rebid shows 15-16 playing Acol

(3)Gerber etc.

And what happened? With no established fit I
think that 6NT is a very poor contract with a combined 31 points and no long
suit. The same poor slam was bid at 6 out of the 7 tables on Monday. Does
nobody realise that 31 points is not usually enough with no fit or long suit?
But perhaps I have to eat my words? Because 12 tricks were made at 6 of the 7
tables!

How is that possible?It does not look possible to me unless the
defence find a poor lead. What did you lead in this week’s bidding quiz? At our
table I was South and led the ♠8.

Why? Because I listened to the bidding and knew
that partner had absolutely nothing – if the contract is to be set then the two
tricks must come from my hand. In this situation you cannot afford to give a
trick away on the opening lead and so lead from nothing.

So if 6NT is a poor contract, how should the
bidding go? There are two possibilities (playing a strong NT):

(a)1NT
– 4NT – passWhere
4NT is quantitative,

or(b)1NT
– 3NT – passWhere 3NT is perhaps a
bit feeble.

The bottom lines: -

-To make a small
slam you generally need about 33 points unless you have a fit (and play in it
as trumps) or have a long suit.

-And the lead. Leading
away from an honour is often the only way to set a contract – you hope to find
partner with an honour in the suit. But if you know that partner is bust then
don’t lead away from an honour!

5-5 Come AliveThis one’s left over from last
week: -Board 18 from
Friday 28th

Dealer:♠ 92Table A

East♥ 972West(C)NorthEast(A)South

N-S vul♦ QJ105--1♦(1)pass

♣ Q6521♥(2)pass1♠(3)pass

3♠(4)pass4♠all pass

♠ AJ1076N♠ KQ83

♥
K8643WE♥ AQ5Table B

♦-S♦ A764West(C)NorthEast(A)South

♣ J73♣ 94--1♦(1)pass

♠ 541♠(2)pass2♠(5)pass

♥J10pass(6)pass

♦K9832

♣ AK108

Table A:(1)What did you open with this East hand A in
this week’s quiz? A decent 15 count so 1NT looks obvious to me.

(4)And what did you
bid with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? I bid 1♠ here, see
Table B.

(5)Having not opened
1NT East can only really bid 1♠ here.

(6)But luckily West has great ♠ support and an easy
invite.

Table B:(1)It’s catching! I
don’t understand what’s wrong with 1NT.

(2)This West correctly bid 1♠, intending
2♥ over partner’s response.

(5)With great support for ♠’s, it’s in
between 2♠ and 3♠. I would not be in this predicament as I would have opened 1NT.

(6)Pathetic. A 3♥ try is in order. I
understand that West was ‘put off’ because he had a void in partner’s ‘suit’.

And what happened? Everyone was in game except Table B, mostly
making 11 or 12 tricks. At Table B West made all 13 tricks for a cold zero. I
guess his play is better than his bidding?

The bottom lines: -

-Open 1NT with a
balanced hand within your opening 1NT range.

-Open 1NT and you
never have a rebid problem – and you make it easier
for partner if he’s having an off day!

-If you can
describe your hand in one go – do so.

-5-5 in the majors
is good (and really good opposite a 1NT opening!).

♠ 102East hand 7
from Friday 28th

♥AQJ43

♦KQ85Incidentally,
I know it was not the small doubleton that deterred East from opening

♣ K81NT at Table B, for in the same
session he opened 1NT with this East hand!

Strong vs Weak NT – part 1.

And another incidentally:This
deal demonstrates one of the advantages of the Strong NT over the weak NT. When
you hold say 15-16 points and open one of a suit you are never quite sure
whether to jump or not when you have a fit for responder’s suit. This problem
occurs less frequently when you play a strong NT.

Don’t put Qx’s on table!Board 2 from Monday 31st

Dealer:♠ KJ6Table
A

East♥ 86WestNorthEastSouth(B)

N-S vul♦ A863--pass1NT(1)

♣ KJ86pass3NTall pass

♠ A975N♠ 1043

♥ A75WE♥ J10943

♦J2S♦ 9

♣ 972♣ A1054

♠ Q8

♥KQ2

♦KQ10754

♣ Q3

(1)What did you open
with this South hand B in this week’s quiz? This hand is easily worth a strong
1NT if you are happy with opening 1NT with two doubletons. I have no problem
with it, provided that the doubletons are Qx or better. Actually, I have
written about Qx a few times in the past – it is a holding that belongs in
declarer’s hand (rather than dummy) because if partner has Axx
then the suit is immune from an opening lead. With two Qx’s
I most certainly want to be declarer.

And what happened? As I expected, NT
played better from the South hand – but not because of either Qx but because of
the ♥’s! If North is declarer then the obvious ♥ lead gives North
problems.

3NT was bid three times and made +1
twice (going down once). Other contracts were 2♦, 3♦ and 4♦ (twice).
Presumably the 4♦ bidders were not familiar with my frequently publicised doctrines
about not bidding 4♣/♦ if 3NT is a viable contract?

The bottom lines: -

-Strive to be
declarer with Qx in a suit

-If you have a
‘balanced’ hand within your opening 1NT range, then open 1NT.

-In my opinion a 6
card minor is OK for 1NT if both of the doubletons are Qx or better.

-If you open 1NT
then you never have a rebid problem.

-Don’t bid 4♣/♦ if 3NT is
a viable contract.

The 2♣/♦ and the 2♥/♠ overcall of 1NT using
Cappelletti/Multi Landy

♠ 107On Friday I witnessed a player
overcall a weak NT with 2♦ playing Multi- Landy.

♥
Q10654That
shows a single suited hand. I said that I would bid 2♥ (♥’s and a
minor),

♦AQJ8he
countered that 2♥ promises 5-5. Who’s right?

♣ A10All of the books that I could find
simply said that 2♥was♥’s and a minor.

However, every
reference to Cappelletti or MultyLandy said that the single-

suited bid (2♣/♦resp) is a 6+ card suit. I found three fairly explicit
references about 2♥ on the web. Bridgeguys.com says it’s 5 ♥’s and a 4
card minor. Slopin says it’s
5 ♥’s and 5 (rarely4) of the minor. www.acbld22.com/unit537 says - ‘2♥ shows
hearts and a minor; should be 5-5 but just could be 5-4 with 5 hearts’. With
these great ♦’s and miserable ♥’s I believe that 2♥ is the bid if you don’t like double. Nobody would seriously call
this a single suited (♥) hand and later try to defend the bid, would they?

Don’t bid 4♣/♦ if 3NT is a viable
contract!Board 8 from Monday 31st

Dealer:♠ 874

West♥ A54WestNorthEast(D)South

Love all♦ QJ95passpass1♦2♦(1)

♣ Q109pass(2)2♥4♦(3)pass

5♦all pass

♠ AK94N♠ J

♥ Q1083WE♥ K7

♦42S♦ AK10763

♣ 865♣ KJ32

♠ Q10632

♥J962

♦8

♣ A74

(1)A Micaels cue-bid. This is
generally played as weak or very strong.And I happen to know that this South means very strong when he
says that (’twas I) - not some crappy 14-15 count. I play Michaels as weak or
game forcing if I bid again – so it’s usually weak!

(2)Now West really has to do
something here. I would double and you can play that as you wish – I like to
play it as having some values (say 6+) and being able to penalise at least one
of RHO’s suits.

(3)I’m not exactly sure what this 4♦ bid meant.
What did you bid with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? E-W were a casual partnership so it’s difficult, but assuming
South has a weak hand then partner must have points. And what’s more, he must
have ♠’s (presumably at least four). I would chance 3NT here – if 3NT is
the contract then East should be declarer to protect
his ♥K. And in the (very unlikely) event that South actually has a rock
crusher and doubles then East can happily retreat into the non-vul 4♦

And what happened? 5♦ was three
down. 3NT made exactly at two other tables.

The bottom lines: -

-Don’t bid 4♣/♦ if 3NT is
a viable contract.

As an aside

What would bids of 2♠ or 3♥ by East at
(3) mean? 3♥ would certainly be asking for a ♥ stop and since South
is known to hold ♠’s and ♥’s then I suppose that 2♠ would be asking for a ♠ stop, or
you could play it as showing a ♠ stop. But since East has to be declarer to protect his ♥K (he does
not know that North has the ♥A) then I still think
that East should gamble 3NT.

Michaels Again!Board 12 from Monday 31st

Dealer:♠ 2

West♥ A1072WestNorthEastSouth

N-S vul♦ Q1096passpass1♥2♥(1)

♣ K10733♥(2)3NT(3)passpass(4)

pass

♠ A9765N♠ K84

♥
853WE♥ KQJ96

♦K54S♦ A82

♣ Q6♣ 85

♠ QJ103

♥4

♦J73

♣ AJ942

(1)A Micaels
cue-bid, showing ♠’s and a minor.

(2)An overbid, but
South’s pre-empt has made it difficult for West.

(3)Meant as asking
partner to bid his minor. I am unsure about the wisdom of bidding here,
partner’s pre-empt may have caused West difficulties and E-W may well get too
high in ♥’s and this ♥ holding may be awkward for East. Also, 4 of a minor is one above
‘The Law’ (it’s only a 9 card minor suit fit) and unwise at this vulnerability.

(4)But South also did not have his thinking cap on. Now if West had
passed then 2NT from North would be asking for the minor. 3NT here must surely
be to play – except that partner is a passed hand! He cannot have values for
3NT and so his 3NT bid must be asking for South’s minor.

And what happened? 3NT went 3 down for a
bottom to N-S. At other tables 4 E-W pairs played in ♥’s, making 7 tricks twice and 9 tricks
twice. We’ll never know if East would have pushed on to the miserable 4♥ if North
had kept quiet – I bet he would have!

The bottom lines:-

-Obey The Law. Be
very wary of overtreading the Law when vulnerable –
especially if the opponents are not in game or may well be defeated.

-Now I can be
quoted saying to raise partner’s pre-empt with 3 card support (so a 2 opening
to 3 or a 3 opening to 4) but that does not mean raise to 4 when partner has
only 5 cards.

-Be aware that
partner’s pre-empt may have made it difficult for the opponents.

A Word about Michaels and UNT

5-5 or is a 4-card suit permissible? This
is up to you, my personal opinion is as follows: -

-For 2♣/♦ over 1♣/♦ I only
promise 5-4 or 4-5. Since partner only has to bid at the two level
it is acceptable for one of the suits to be just 4-card.

-If partner has to go to
the three level then I guarantee 5 cards there. Thus I
am always 5-5 for the UNT and 1♠ - 2♠ promises 5 ♥’s and a 5 card minor.

-Thus 1♥ - 2♥ promises a
5 card minor but only 4 ♠’s (but if only 4 then they are good ones).

-Incidentally, I have
written quite a bit about two-suited overcalls (it’s on the web or ask me if
you want a copy). Michaels/UNT are good but have
problems; you cannot show all combinations (e.g. ♠’s and ♣’s over a 1♦ opening)
and the minor suit is often ambiguous. These problems are solved with Questem or Ghestem whereby both
suits are unambiguous but you have to utilise an artificial 3♣ bid. Look
it up.

Pick a major – part 1Board 22 from Wednesday 2nd (and Friday!)

Dealer:♠ -Table
A

East♥
J97West(E)NorthEast(G)South

E-W vul♦
QJ975--pass1♣

♣ J109872♦(1)passpasspass(2)

♠ AQ63N♠ J109542Table B

♥
8WE♥ Q10654West(E)NorthEast(G)South

♦AK10632S♦ ---pass1♣

♣ KQ♣ 65dbl(1)pass(3)2♣(4)pass

♠ K874♠(5)all
pass

♥AK32

♦84

♣ A432

Table A:(1)What did you bid with this West hand E(a) in this week’s quiz? Even if you play strong jump
overcalls I don’t like 2♦ here as it is passable and you may miss a ♠ fit. The hand is
obviously too strong for a simple 1♦ overcall.

(2)I would ‘automatically’
double here playing negative doubles.

Table B:(1)This hand really is too strong for a 1♦ overcall.
So double and then bid ♦’s over partner’s expected ♥ response.

(3)I would make it
difficult for the opponents and bid 3♣ here.

(4)What did you bid
with this East hand G in this week’s quiz? Now partner’s double of 1♣ does not
necessarily guarantee both majors;so bid 2♣, which basically says
‘pick a major and I’m happy with at least the two level’.

(5)What did you bid
with this West hand E(b) in this week’s quiz? I simply
bid 4♠ here – keep it simple.

And what happened? 2♦went 3 down for a poor score. It looks
like 4♠ has an obvious 11 tricks to me but one West managed to go two
down in 5♠ doubled and another was doubled in 4♠ and made exactly. Why
don’t people double me in these contracts?

The bottom lines:-

-Bidding the
opponent’s suit is not natural, even ♣’s when they play a
short ♣.

-Do not simply
overcall with a huge 18 count.

-A double of 1♣ is
playable in the other 3 suits unless the hand is strong enough to bid again.

Incidentally, the board was mistakenly not
re-dealt on Friday and so played again. This was not noticed until the very last
round when Chuck and I picked up the E-W cards and remembered it from
Wednesday. As nobody else seemed to have recognised it we got an average and I
let the other results stand. 2nd time round only one pair reached
game (5♠ doubled making) and another two pairs managed to land in 2♦ going down.

Mobile phones

Is it asking too much for people to switch off their mobile phones
during the session? I note that one player on Friday, notorious for being the
slowest player in the club, had a conversation on the phone and subsequently
did not play a board as a result. Next time I’ll give him an adjusted
(unfavourable) score? What do you think?

Pick a major – part 2Board 30 from
Friday 4th

Dealer:♠ A83West(F)NorthEast(J)South

East♥ AJ96--1NT(1)pass

Love all♦ J10723♠(2)pass4♠(3)all
pass

♣ K9

(1)What did you open with
this East hand J in

♠ Q9654N♠ K10this
week’s quiz? With two tenaces to protect

♥
Q10842WE♥ K7I totally agree with this
1NT opening.

♦5S♦ AK43(2)And what did you do with this West hand K in this

♣ A2♣ Q10753week’s quiz? I consider it to be worth game and we

♠ J72play 3♠ to show a
game-forcing 5-5 major suit hand.

♥53(3)I would bid 4♥ here, not necessarily
because East

♦Q986is
a better declarer than West, but because it’s

♣ J864usually
better for the stronger hand to be declarer.

Maybe
East forgot the system?

And what
happened? 4♠ squeaked home despite East’s poor major suit holdings.

The bottom
lines: -

-8 points is enough to insist upon game if
you are 5-5 in the majors opposite a 1NT opener.

-It’s up to you how you bid 5-5’s in the
majors opposite a 1NT opener. I prefer transferring but I will usually go along
with anything sensible that partner wants to play.

Our ‘Friendly’ ClubBoard 10
from Wednesday 3rd

SouthThere
was an ‘incident’ on Wednesday, I did not get involved as I was

playing and Dave was in charge. This was the dummy and
declarer was

♠ QJ10xxxplaying in a ♥ contract.
Declarer called for the ♥A and then called for ‘queen’.

♥AQxxxApparently
dummy played the ♠Q, the next hand
played a ♠ without

♦xxcomment,
declarer played a small ♥ (not noticing that dummy had played

♣ -the
wrong card – declarer’s ♥’s were solid) and the 4th hand quickly ‘over-ruffed’. I
did not hear about the details until later in the day.

This would be my ruling:
-

(a)When declarer
asks for a card without specifying the suit, it is the last suit he asked for.
Thus the ♥Q was played from dummy. I assume that dummy (South) was asleep?

(b)I really don’t
care what the rules say here – West should have brought the irregularity to
declarer’s attention. The ♥Q was the card declarer asked for.

(c)Obviously
declarer was also asleep – but we all have our off days.

(d)East contended
that everything was in order and that he should get his trick.

(e)The director (Dave) was
summoned, there was general ill-feeling at the table and the board was
averaged.

My ruling would have been as follows:
-

-Both defenders
behaved badly, especially West.

-The play should
have been reset to declarer playing the ♥Q from dummy.

-If East did not
like that ruling and feels he is entitled to the trick then he should play
elsewhere, that kind of attitude is not tolerated at this club.

A
negative double after partner pre-empts?Board 24 from Friday 4th

I’ll usually go along with partner
(so play jumps to 3♥/♠ showing 5-5 if he really wants to waste these otherwise useful bids
when there are better methods) but I draw the line here: -

Dealer:♠ AQJ1032WestNorthEastSouth

West♥
1062(me)(Ian)(Chuck)

Love all♦
22♥2♣dbl(1)pass

♣ A64pass(2)pass(3)

♠ 54N♠ K76(1)East
intended this as a negative double

♥
KQ9854WE♥ J3(showing
the minors).

♦QJ4S♦ AK95(2)After some thought I passed – we certainly

♣ K7♣ J1098had
not discussed this sequence and I think

♠ 98that
it has to be penalties.

♥A7(3)Ian was irate about my pause – he would have
called

♦108763the director if he was not present. But we
all know

♣ Q532when
to totally ignore Ian (most of the time).

So then –
is dbl at (1) negative or penalties?

-I say it’s
penalties. West has described his hand and East is the
captain. It should not be a negative double because when playing negative
doubles you expect partner to re-open with a double when you have the penalty
pass; he most certainly never will in this situation.

-Chuck say it’s
negative and with no 4-card minor I should simply revert to 3♥.

This
is the 3rd time that Chuck and I have disagreed when there is
obviously no book readily available to cover the particular sequence. So I have
again written off to a Bridge magazine, does anybody want to lay any bets
before the answer is public knowledge? What are the realistic odds of me being
wrong? Having been proved to be correct twice it’s time I was wrong? Any bets
on it snowing in Pattaya next week?

A weak two opener?Board
8 from Friday 4th

Dealer:♠ Q653WestNorthEastSouth

West♥ K754(me)

Love all♦ J1082♠(1)passpass3♣(2)

♣ 65all
pass

♠ J109874N♠ K(1)I did not bother to put this one in the quiz as I’m

♥ 86WE♥ AJ32pretty
sure that there is only one person in the

♦AQ7S♦ K954club who would not open this with 2♠.

♣K2♣ Q943Fortunately he was sitting East.

♠ A2(2)I cannot criticise this bid – it’s difficult –
that’s

♥Q109what pre-empting is all about.

♦632

♣ AJ1087And what
happened? Most E-W pairs played in 2♠ or 3♠ making

9 tricks. 3♣ went 4 down for a good score to E-W. The top E-W score was when
South doubled at (2) and North bid 3♥, doubled
for 500 away.

Responding to partner’s negative doubleBoard 28 from Friday
4th

Dealer:♠ KQ1072Table A

West♥ A104WestNorthEastSouth

Love all♦ A75pass1♠2♦(1)2♥(2)

♣ 65pass3♥(3)pass4♥

all pass

♠ 864N♠ AJ9

♥
K976WE♥ 52‘Expert Table’

♦93S♦ KQ842WestNorth(K)EastSouth

♣ Q1072♣ 943pass1♠2♦(1)dbl(2)

♠ 53pass2♥(4)pass3♦(5)

♥ QJ83pass3NT
(6)all pass

♦J106

♣ AKJ8

Table A:(1)A shade light for a two-level overcall, but
with these ♠’s sitting over opener and at this vulnerability I think it’s fine.

(2)What would you
bid with this South hand? It has the values for 2♥ but
unfortunately that promises 5 ♥’s. See ‘Expert Table’.

(3)This is why the 2♥ bid has to
guarantee 5 cards – because it uses up bidding space and partner has to know if
it’s safe to support with just 3 trumps.

Table(4)Now this bid is
interesting. What did you bid with this North hand K in this week’s quiz? Partner
has not responded at the two level and may possibly
have as few as 6-7 points. 2NT would be incorrect here as it’s too high if
partner is weak. With this 13 count North has only two options - 2♥ or 2♠.

(5)And our expert South knows that partner may
have just 3 ♥’s, so he takes it slowly with a cue bid of the enemy suit.

(6)And this expert
North also knows what he’s doing. Partner’s cue bid is forcing to game, with 4 ♥’s he would
bid 4♥ but with just 3 ♥’s and a ♦ stop he bids 3NT. With just 3 ♥’s and no ♦ stop he
would bid 3♠ and leave it up to partner or else bid 4♥ if the Moysian fit looked the best bet.

And what happened? 4♥ was bid 3
times and went two or three down. 3NT was bid 3 times;

-2, -1 or making. 3NT is not
easy, but I suppose our experts would have made it?

The bottom lines: -

-A 2♥ bid over
partner’s 1♠ opening promises 5 ♥’s and 11+ points, whether or not there is an intervening overcall.

-With just 4 ♥’s it’s
different if there is an overcall or not: -

.If there is no overcall
then bid 2♣/♦ (can be 4-card) – if partner has 4 ♥’s he will bid them
and if he does not then there’s no need to mention yours.

.If there is an overcall,
then negative double to show 4 ♥’s.

-A negative double
is unlimited in strength but only promises values to compete to cheapest level
of the suit shown or to two of opener’s suit (so 2♥/♠
here).

-If you have a 5
card ♥ suit but less than 11 points then it’s not enough to bid a forcing
2♥ and so you have to negative double.

Strong vs Weak NT – part 2.

The sequence 1♠2♦dblpass 2NT is interesting.
As I said above it’s a problem playing a strong NT. But playing Acol there’s no problem as a NT rebid
would be 15-16 and so 2NT to deny 4 ♥’s and show a ♦ stop would usually be
OK.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A:1NT. A balanced 15-17. Quite why at least two people chose 1♦ is beyond
me.

Hand B:(a)1NT. This hand is well worth a strong 1NT and
these Qx’s belong in declarer’s hand (not dummy).

(b)2♦, I suppose, but it’s a bit feeble. It’s
too good for 1NT (12-14). That’s why I open 1NT – you don’t have to worry about
your rebid!

Hand
C:1♠. Bid 5-5’s from the
top down. If partner responds 1NT or 2♦ then bid 2♥, (or maybe 3♥ over 1NT).

Hand
D:3NT. Now partner has not made it
easy for you (it would have been nice to hear a reassuring double from him to
say that he has something) but you have to assume that LHO’s
Michaels is weak. 3NT is a possible final contract and with the ♥Kx that presumably needs protecting
you simply have to gamble that partner has something in ♠’s (he
surely has – as otherwise where are they all?).

Hand E:(a)dbl. It’s far too strong for a 1♦ overcall.

(b)4♠. Anything
else is not forcing.

Hand
F:(c) ,
game forcing, is correct in my opinion. 8 points is usually just invitational,
but with two 5-card major suits I consider it worth a game force.

Hand G:2♣. This is
not natural. It asks partner to pick a (major) suit and promises values to
compete to at least the two level.

Hand H:2♥. With a
weak doubleton ♠ I prefer the possible 4-3 fit to 1NT, and
partner may well have 5 ♥’s. Also, 2♥ is preferable as it’s more encouraging than 1NT and if partner has
say 9-10 points you want him to make a move – he will not over 1NT.

Hand J:1NT. With two tenaces to protect 1NT is best. 1♣ is also fine as you
have a good rebid of 2♦ (a reverse) but with
these major suit tenaces I prefer 1NT. With less points in the majors or one of them worse than Qx then
I would go the reverse route.

Hand K:2♥. Yes, 2♥ and not
the “obvious’ 2NT. Why is that?

I suppose
that it depends upon how you play your negative doubles, but I do not promise
11 points with the double of 2♦, only enough to compete to 2♥ or 2♠, and so
2NT may be too high. Partner must also realise that this may easily be a weakish hand with just 3 ♥’s and should not leap
off to 4♥ on the assumption that you also have 4 ♥’s.

LeadingA♠. Partner is totally
bust and so to set the contract you must get two tricks with no

Quizhelp
from partner. Leading away from an honour will probably cost a trick

Answer(as partner is bust) so lead from nothing – it cannot give
anything away.

Contacting Others

We now have a list of some member’s/guest’s telephone/e-mail details
on the web-site. When you open the main page, click on ‘contact us’ and then at
the very bottom of that page you’ll see a ‘contact members’ link. When you
click that you’ll be asked for a password. At the moment it contains 20 or so
entries, if you would like your details included then give them or e-mail them
to me (if I don’t already have them) and I’ll include them and tell/e-mail you
the password.